摘要：The anthrax attacks of 2001 created risk communication problems that cannot be fully understood without appreciating the dynamics among organizations. Case studies of communication in New Jersey, consisting of interviews with a range of participants, found that existing organizational and professional networks facilitated trust among decisionmakers. This interpersonal trust improved communication among agencies and thereby risk communication with the public. For example, “white powder scares” were a problem even in places without contamination. Professionals’ trust in each other was vital for responding productively. Conversely, organizational challenges, including conflict among agencies, hindered communication with key audiences. Although centralization and increased control are often seen as the remedy for communicative confusion, they also can quash the improvisational responses needed during crises. IMPROVING RISK COMMU nication about terrorism requires understanding not only responses to messages but also the organizations working to manage the risks. The anthrax attacks of 2001 provided an opportunity to understand how organizational factors caused risk communication problems and how organizational strengths helped avoid them. 1 – 7 A central point of disaster research has long been that confusion among organizations is to be expected after significant disruption and that such confusion diminishes effective communications. 8 Studies also demonstrate that risk communication has been greatly influenced by organizational factors. 9 – 11 We add to this literature by reviewing government officials’ descriptions of how they dealt with organizational challenges during the 2001 anthrax attacks. We then provide examples from 4 case studies 12 involving state, county, and local agencies that served on the front lines of the war on terror in New Jersey. For these case studies, we interviewed public health professionals, emergency responders, police officers, elected officials, health practitioners, and other decisionmakers in 4 geographic areas: one with extensive contamination (Hamilton), one with a case initially labeled “suspect” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Bellmawr), one in which 2 people were mistakenly labeled “suspect” by a local health officer (Monmouth), and one with no contamination (Morristown). (The disease known as anthrax is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis ; for simplicity, we use the term anthrax when referring to the disease or the bacterium.)
